Kudos to state Rep. Jovan Melton for sponsoring a bill to require hands-free phone use, and prohibit use of apps, for Colorado drivers. The rapid pace of technology requires diligence to address possible risks of its use. There is considerable data showing this increased risk while driving. Common sense should dictate that we avoid this risk, but unfortunately common sense is not common practice. This is a clear no-brainer. Let’s get with the program and join the other states that have already figured this out.

Bob Edwards, Denver

This letter was published in the March 11 edition.

Rep. Jovan Melton’s bill requiring drivers to use hands-free devices while driving and conducting cellphone conversations is a classic red herring. Hands-free cellphone laws are setting an insidiously dangerous precedent. The well-documented problem is cognitive distraction. A driver simply cannot drive safely and carry on a cellphone conversation. A driver engaging in a cellphone conversation, hands-free or hand-held, is as impaired as a legally drunk driver. Please don’t trivialize this serious and growing problem with meaningless legislation.

Keith Bruce, Denver

This letter was published in the March 11 edition.

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Once again, it has been proven that the laws are only for those who are interested in obeying them. On my way home today as a passenger in a car, I noticed a vehicle on our bumper. We weren’t going fast enough for the driver, so he passed us on the right. As I looked into his window, I noticed he was smoking. It was not a cigarette; it was a pot pipe. It has begun. Good luck to our uniformed heroes who will try to keep us safe.

Sandra Porth, Denver

This letter was published in the Jan. 10 edition.

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Letter-writer Ross Marchand is right, to the extent he states that some phone calls must be taken. The life-or-death situations he described, however, are even more distracting, and therefore more dangerous when driving than “needless gossiping.”

If one must take the call, pull over in a safe area and stop. After you are safe and pose no danger to others, continue the conversation. Even basic emergency first aid courses stress that you should ensure your own safety first before assisting others.

Andrew Regan, Denver

This letter was published in the July 9 edition.

Ross Marchand writes of his grandmother, suffering from the ravages of ALS. I am truly sorry this is so. I hope that he turns to hands free technology so as not to take his “eyes off the road” as he mentioned in his letter. If a driver feels it is a critical, life-or-death matter to answer a call, they should pull over if possible. Those brief moments of inattention, texting, answering calls, eating, drinking, etc., may cost someone else their life. How important will the call or text seem then?

Thomas M. Holzfaster, Lakewood

This letter was published online only.

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While most of our phone time is mired in needless gossiping, answering a phone call can sometimes make a life-or-death difference. As someone with a ALS-afflicted grandmother, I’ve been frantically contacted many times by home-health aids about falls and chokings. How can a blanket prohibition on using cellphones while driving weigh the costs of not answering versus taking the eyes off the road? Rather than a crudely crafted ban, we should entrust drivers to decide based on circumstance.

Ross Marchand, Colorado Springs

This letter was published in the July 5 edition.

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On Monday I witnessed parents placing their three little children in van seats. Then the father opened a carton of cigarettes. In a few minutes the mother was smoking, with the windows up, as they drove away. This is just plain child abuse. Isn’t it long overdue for Colorado to pass a law to protect innocent children trapped in vehicles with toxic tobacco smoke?

Mike Sawyer, Denver

This letter was published in the June 25 edition.

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Guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 150 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address, day and evening phone numbers, and may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.

To reach the Denver Post editorial page by phone: 303-954-1331

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